Finding Home
by Shadows of the Aurora
Summary: Romance blossoms between runaways Luke and Thalia, as they fight to stay alive in their makeshift family. However, at Camp, Luke falls for his best friend Annabeth, but their relationship is made more complicated by their quest to revive Thalia. As they sail through the Sea of Monsters on a forbidden quest, Luke begins to question who he really loves. Lots of Thaluke and Lukabeth.
1. On The Run

Thalia stopped short when she reached the stream. Luke was a step behind her, and he almost rammed into her when she stopped so suddenly. They had been racing one another to the stream.

"So, do you think they saw where we went the day before yesterday?" Thalia asked. She was referring to the people that they had stolen a loaf of bread from the day before they had returned from town.

"I think we lost them. And I told you that you should have let me steal the food," Luke said, after catching his breath.

Thalia grinned. "Better head back to the safe house."

They had been following the James River, building safe houses along it. Their closest one wasn't very far. They had spent the last couple of nights on the streets, as they hadn't had time to get back to the safe house before nightfall. They'd just made it back yesterday at dawn. As they raced each other towards the river, Luke stuffed the loaf of bread back into his pack.

Within a few minutes, they'd reached the safe house. Luke pushed aside a door woven out of twigs and dead leaves and followed Thalia inside. Stacked inside were an ice chest, a kerosene lamp, a spare javelin, and a bottle of nectar.

Thalia dumped her pack onto the floor and began cleaning her blade on a rag. Luke crossed over to their ice chest and retrieved an apple, the last one they had left. He sliced it in half with his knife and tossed one half to Thalia.

"It's not going to be enough," Thalia said. "We'll have to scavenge from more food."

"I think we should go into town again tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? Can't we go again today? We'll be back by nightfall."

"Alright, fine," Luke said, relenting. He sliced the loaf of bread from the market and split it with Thalia. "You know, the next time you try to get away with stealing food, try _not _to make such a racket."

"Alright, genius. Next time, you can do all the stealing since you're so talented at it." Thalia lay sprawled on the ground, still eating her apple. "But at least I'm better than you at sword fighting."

"Let's spar again, and we'll see," Luke said, grinning.

"Alright." Thalia, grinning as well, stood up and took out her spear.

The fight lasted about five seconds until Thalia wound up knocking Luke's knife out of his hand and stopping her blade inches from Luke's undefended chest.

"You could never beat me in a swordfight, Luke."

"That's only because I haven't been practicing," Luke said. He'd finished his slice of bread and was staring hungrily at the rest of the bread.

"We'll eat the rest of it for lunch," Thalia said, reading Luke's mind. "But we'd better go and get something for tomorrow."

And so they began making their way back into town, following the river. It took them some time to reach the edge of the woods, and by then it was high noon already. They had purposefully built this safe house deep into the woods, as they didn't want mortals accidentally running across it, like last time.

When they reached the edge of town, Thalia immediately headed for the grocery store.

"Are you sure?" Luke asked quietly. "What if they recognize us from last time?"

Thalia shook her head. "They won't. The security cameras couldn't possibly have caught our faces, and it's a pretty big place."

Luke and Thalia split up inside the large store. Luke went upstairs to the second floor, and Thalia explored the first. She wove between the sea of people, occasionally stuffing an apple or a chocolate bar into her pack when nobody was looking. Luke was better at this stealing thing than she was. He was exceptionally skilled at breaking into forbidden places as well.

It was late afternoon before they met up again, behind the grocery store like they had planned. Already, Luke's pack was stuffed with food. Thalia surveyed the sky. It was darkening already, even though it couldn't be later than four.

"I don't think we have enough time to head back to the safe house tonight," she said. They had built their safe house rather far from town, wishing to avoid mortals as much as possible. It would take them hours to get back.

Luke sighed. "Another night on the streets, then?"

"Yeah." Thalia began to clean and sharpen all her weapons. She leaned against the wall of the building as she cleaned her knife on a rag. It was a habit, even though her knife didn't need sharpening. Luke watched her as he leaned against the wall. Thalia electric blue eyes surveyed the streets suspiciously, as if she expected to be attacked at any given second. Her whole body was tensed, even as she leaned against the wall. _You're never safe, _she'd once told him.

To lighten the mood, Luke began telling of a few of his escapades, and pretty soon he had her laughing at a trick he'd played on a waitress in a restaurant once. Thalia told him stories of her own, of how she had found a way on the streets. She avoided the memories of pain, of heartbreak, and told of the good times, of how she had made a living before she met Luke.

Their laughter echoed in the air, and for the first time in weeks, Thalia felt free, even if only for a moment. During her months on the run with Luke, she'd learned to enjoy the good moments for as long as possible, to pick up the pieces again and start over, to find the good amidst the bad.

They stayed there for almost an hour, laughing and joking about random things. Thalia had missed this. She remembered the old times, when she and Luke had sat around the lit kerosene lamp in the safe house that they'd built with their bare hands, telling stories and jokes, and sharing with each other everything. Luke was the one person she trusted above all else, and standing here, laughing with him, she didn't know what she'd do without him by her side.

"Thalia, remember when you almost killed me with a lightning bolt?" Luke asked reminiscently.

"It was an accident!"

"You know, it would kind of come in handy if you could just electrocute the next monster we come by," Luke said, grinning.

Thalia burst out laughing. "I can't control it! I can't just blast somebody anytime I want."

"Maybe you ought to practice a bit more," Luke said mischievously.

"And blow up our safe house?" Thalia sent him a death glare.

Luke, unconcerned, took out a candy bar from his pack and split it in half. He tossed one half to Thalia. Catching it, Thalia's scowl faded in spite of herself.

"Really, if you weren't such a good fighter already, you'd be stupid not to use you're advantages as a daughter of Zeus," Luke said, nimbly evading the punch Thalia aimed at him.

They spent the rest of the evening resting and relaxing in the shade, laughing at each other's jokes and stories. Day faded into night, and if someone had happened to glance at the abandoned sidewalk behind the grocery store, they would have seen a girl with short black her, electric blue eyes, and freckles, standing next to a boy with blond hair and blue eyes, two best friends, laughing hysterically at each other's jokes. It was these times that made up for all the hungry and cold nights spent on the streets, for although they were both hungry, something about that night seemed to make them forget it all.

Just then, Thalia tensed. Luke saw the movement and the laughter died from his face instantly. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see a hellhound, much larger and more menacing than the one they had met last time. Thalia took out her collapsible Mace canister_. No sudden movements._ Just as he was reaching for his knife, the hellhound leapt. Luke swore. He should have brought his golf club. Even a mortal weapon was better than nothing.

Thalia immediately ducked as the hellhound leapt over her head, landing at the center of the sidewalk. The two of them scrambled to their feet as the hellhound leapt again. This time, Thalia's knife caught its underside as it whistled through the air. The hellhound roared in pain and slashed at Luke, who barely managed to sidestep it in time.

Thalia knew that she and Luke were no match for it. Her knife lay several feet away on the ground. She'd been an idiot to throw it at the hellhound and lose her only weapon. Luke had unsheathed his knife now, and was trying to get in close enough to stab it. Luke's knife found contact and the hellhound roared.

Thalia scrambled for her knife. As Luke and Thalia backed up against one another, he heard Thalia yell, "Go to the open space!"

Luke and Thalia both rounded the corner to the next block, Thalia brandishing her knife at the hellhound behind them. She yelled, and an arc of electricity hit her spear and blasted into the hellhound, but it only made it madder. A stone caught Thalia and she tripped and fell, rolling over and landing once again on her feet just in time to avoid being squashed by the hellhound. Her knife clattered out of her hand once again. Luke skidded to a halt and turned back, charging in front of the now defenseless Thalia. Thalia scrambled to her feet behind him as Luke slashed hard at the hellhound.

"Run, Thalia!"

But Thalia was now approaching the hellhound from behind, her knife back in her hand, taking advantage of the fact that it was now preoccupied with Luke. It slashed viciously at Luke's chest. Luke twisted out of the way and its paw caught his shoulder. Luke gritted his teeth, but it was Thalia who screamed instead of Luke.

Ignoring the searing pain, Luke brought his blade up, catching the hellhound just beneath its chin. Suddenly, the hellhound's paw contacted hard with the hilt of his knife and knocked it out of his hand. The power of the momentum sent Luke tumbling onto his back. He thought he was skewered for sure. The hellhound reared, exposing its neck. In a sudden movement, Thalia stabbed it from behind, throwing her weight into the swing. The hellhound's red eyes flashed black, and it burst into flames, revealing Thalia standing behind him.

Luke scrambled to his feet. "Thalia, did I not _tell _you to run?"

After all these months, did you actually believe I would do that?" Thalia yanked Luke roughly to his feet by his uninjured arm. Her eyes flared, and Luke felt an electric shock go through him. Thalia immediately released him, wincing at her own power. "Did I hurt you?"

"No," Luke lied. His shoulder was burning.

"Luke, we'd better get you some nectar. Lucky I brought it with us. We'd never be able to make it back to the safe house by nightfall," Thalia said. She unscrewed the cap to the bottle and gently poured a few drops of the nectar onto his wound. Luke winced slightly.

"You alright?" Thalia asked, her blue eyes widening in concern.

Luke felt his face heat. "Fine," he said. "Let's find a place to sleep tonight. Like you said, we're not getting back anytime soon."

And so they hunted the streets for a dark alleyway to spend the night. It was Luke who first spotted it. It was getting colder, by now, and Thalia was beginning to shiver. Luke put and arm around her waist, as they began preparing to eat dinner. Thalia leaned against him, relaxing for a few seconds before Luke shoved a slice of bread into her hand.

"Thanks."

They ate silently, in the dark, cold alleyway. Thalia leaned close to Luke, crossing her legs. Within a few minutes, they finished off most of the bread. Still hungry, Thalia packed away the rest of the food into hers and Luke's packs. The alley was narrow, and if some monster were to corner them inside, they would have no way out.

"I'll take first watch," Thalia volunteered.

As tempting as it was, Luke knew that Thalia was tired too. He shook his head. "We just killed a hellhound today. We probably won't be bothered again for at least a couple of days. We don't need to arrange shifts tonight."

"But still…" Thalia glanced uneasily at the streets around them. "Fine. But just this once," she relented.

The two of them both leaned against the wall and prepared for sleep. Using her backpack as a pillow, Thalia slid down so that she was lying down next to Luke, the both of them looking up at the stars. It was a chilly night, and Thalia suddenly wished that they were back in their safe house, sitting around the kerosene lamp, perhaps already in their sleeping bags. A sharp wind blew, and Thalia shivered, shifting closer to Luke. His presence made her feel much safer than when she had traveled the streets alone. But it wasn't only the physical protection that he gave her, but something more. For the first time in her life, she hadn't been alone. For the first time in her life, she had someone she could depend on. She could still remember those nights alone on the streets, when she thought she'd die of hunger and cold. But most of all, she remembered how alone and abandoned she had felt, knowing that there was not one person in the world right then and there who cared about her.

"Luke?"

"Hmm?"

"Is this what it'll be like forever? Fending off monsters, fighting for a living? I want to find a home, Luke, somewhere where we can stop feeling like hunted animals?"

Luke sighed. "You know, every night, I dream of a place filled with scattered demigods brought together. Thalia, if I knew that such a place existed, I'd be able to keep going, no matter what I had to go through. The very possibility that it exists, it's…" he trailed off.

"All I ever wanted was a place to call home, someone to call family," Thalia whispered.

Luke understood what she meant. He had to admit, he'd often dreamed of that place too. A home. It had been all he'd ever wanted. He'd found a home with Thalia, but it could break at any second. It had been Thalia that had kept him going, when he was at the point of giving up.

"I just wish I had something to keep on going for. Right now, it looks like we're not going anywhere. We fight off one monster only to run into another. I just wish that there was something I could fight for, besides my own life and yours. I wish I could look forward to something bright in the future, anything at all. I just don't see the point of us fighting anymore. When I try to look into our future, I see oblivion. But if there was the slightest chance of a future for me, no matter how impossible, it would be enough to keep me going."

Luke could see what she meant. Every night, he'd pray for a sign to tell him that he had not been abandoned, that there was some place in the world for him, somewhere where he could stop running.

Thalia stared up at the sky. "Curse him," she whispered. Luke didn't have to ask who she was talking about. "Every night I pray for him, every night I dream of him coming back for me, and yet he's never answered me, not once. His own daughter."

Luke felt anger boiling up inside him. Hermes hadn't done any more for him, either. Their fathers weren't fit to run the world. There were probably countless other demigods like himself, abandoned. Someday, he'd avenge them all.

"How long can we keep this up, Luke?" Thalia demanded. "How long can we keep running? Is there no place for us in this world?" She slammed her fist into the ground and sparks erupted. Thalia flinched, quickly checking herself.

Luke remained silent. He could see a few bright stars glowing in the blackness of the night sky. "I don't know, Thalia, but no matter what happens, the two of us will always, always be a family."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

* * *

Little did they know, that night, someone, somewhere out there was thinking of them. "Remember, Grover, your duty is to protect Thalia and Thalia alone," Chiron said in a low voice. "Bring her safely to Camp Half-blood."

"I understand, sir."


	2. The Convenience Store

"Luke, wake up. Wake up!"

Luke's eyes opened. Thalia was bent over him, shaking his shoulder. Light shone through the open door of their safe house. Judging by the blinding light, it was late morning already. "What time is it? Why didn't you wake me up?"

"I _did _wake you!" Thalia said. "Come on, I'm hungry. Let's go and nick something from the convenience store like we planned yesterday.

Luke sat up. It took a while for his eyes to adjust to the light. And then it hit him. Neither of them had been keeping watch that night. Thalia herself must have just woken up as well.

As comprehension dawned on Luke's face. Thalia couldn't help but snort. Luke always woke up a little disoriented in the morning. Actually more than a little. She remembered how Luke had once poured a bucket of ice water in her face to wake her up one morning. Luke had once mentioned that Thalia muttered a lot in her sleep, too. Her face heated at the memory. She hadn't said anything embarrassing, had she?

"Thalia?" Luke was looking at her in a bemused way.

She snapped herself out of her trance. "The convenience store, remember?"

"Right." Luke looked a little embarrassed at having forgotten

Luke was dreaming of the candy bars they sold at the convenience store as they trudged through the woods. It had been so long since they'd dared go back. He remembered the last convenience store they'd left when their safe house had been burnt down. They usually considered themselves lucky running into a monster a week. They'd been on the move for a couple weeks, building safe houses every few days, trying to throw the monsters off their scent. His guess was that they'd be able to stay at this safe house for a good few weeks, if they were lucky. They'd never met two monsters together, though. Luke shuddered at the idea of two hellhounds cornering them together. They'd barely manage to survive one attack only to meet another.

"Luke." They'd reached the edge of the woods. Luke sprinted across the street, ignoring the red lights, with Thalia a step behind him. As they stepped into the convenience store with their faces carefully hidden, it was the storage room that first caught Luke's eyes. He elbowed Thalia, nodding in that direction. Thalia's eyes widened, taking in his meaning. Making sure nobody else was watching, they quickly dashed behind a row of shelves.

"The storage room?" Thalia hissed.

"Yeah." Luke quickly bent down. It was locked.

"Can you unlock it?" Thalia's eyes weree alight. "Do your thing."

Luke had been secretly hoping that it would be unlocked, but no such luck. He hated doing his thing.

"Please? It's so cool," Thalia said, flashing those blue eyes of hers.

Luke sighed, relenting in spite of himself. He put his hand on the lock. "It's got an alarm attached to it, I think."

"Can you disable it?"

"Probably." Luke could feel the different combinations running throughout the lock. He concentrated hard, and the lock clicked. He didn't really like to advertise his abbility, because it inescapably marked him as a son of Hermes.

"Cool," Thalia whispered reverently. "You're so good."

Luke turned red. Why did he like hearing that so much? But Thalia had already pushed past him into the storage room. He followed, shutting the door quietly behind him. Inside the dark little room were shelves upon shelves of goods stacked on one another. Packages of chips, rows of chocolates, columns of food.

"Woah!" Luke said.

"This is amazing! We could never have gotten away with so much out in the actual store." Thalia grinned at him, and Luke felt his heart plummet. Thalia headed straight for the food shelf. She opened her pack and began stuffing muffins inside, always careful not to take too much.

"You know, Thalia, if you don't want to get us caught," Luke said, "You might want to make less of a racket."

Thalia stopped stuffing her pack to send him a death glare, one that she usually reserved only for him. He had to admit, she struck an impressive figure in her black leather boots and her punk-styled clothing.

"Alright, alright." Luke began taking candy bars and biscuits off the shelves. There were cans of dried fruit up on the top shelf, but Luke couldn't reach them. Thalia, however, had other ideas. Using the shelves as rungs to a ladder, she scaled the shelf and started tossing down cans to Luke. She heaved herself up so that she sat on the top shelf. Luke wondered at her being afraid of heights but not sitting atop ten-foot tall shelves. _Clang!_

Luke and Thalia both froze. Luke had missed a can, and it had clattered loudly on the ground. Putting a finger to his lips, Luke quickly made his way to the door. He inched it opened. He could hear swift footsteps. Someone had heard and was coming towards them. Luke panicked and signaled to Thalia. Instantly, she leapt off the shelf and ducked behind it. Luke joined her behind it just as the door swung open.

"Amelia, are you sure you heard something?" asked a man's voice.

"Positive."

Thalia looked at Luke, eyes wide in panic. The man was blocking the exit. He hadn't seen them yet, but he probably would soon. Luke cursed himself silently. The man flipped on the lights. Luke was momentarily blinded by the yellow-white light. He blinked. The man was making his way towards them, slowly. _Damn. _The woman was now blocking the door, while the man wove his way through the shelves.

Thalia locked eyes with Luke. She knew exactly what he was thinking. "You take care of the woman, I'll take care of the man," she whispered. The man was coming closer and closer to their hiding place. One wrong move, and either him or the woman would see them. "Separate on my mark." Thalia hesitated. "Now!"

The man's head snapped up at the yell, but Thalia was too quick for him. She slammed against a shelf, and, instinctively, the man leapt out of the way. But Luke had seen the trick coming. He couldn't remember how many times Thalia's had used it. Taking advantage of his momentary unbalance, she threw her weight against him, knocking him to the ground. Before he had time to react, she was leaping over the fallen shelf, barreling towards Luke. Luke swept the woman's feet out from under her, and before she had time to react, he'd barreled past her, Thalia right behind him.

"Shoplifters!" screamed the woman. Instantly, a dozen people looked up. One member of the staff made a grab for Thalia, but missed. The rest either cowered behind the shelves or planted themselves in front of the entrance. It was two against six, with the other customers scattering. Luke slammed his backpack into one as Thalia knocked another shelf down. The staff scattered, and the entrance was wide open. Thalia leapt over the shelf and they broke into a run, the manager shouting threats at their backs. They barreled down the street, knocking down people as they ran. By the time they made it to the safe house, Luke was winded. Thalia kicked open the door and deposited her pack on the ground.

Luke tossed Thalia the canned fruit they'd picked up, and she accepted it grudgingly. She sat down next to Luke. It was high noon already. "So, what now?" Luke said. Truthfully they hadn't had a moment's peace the past few weeks, furiously trying to throw the monsters off their scent. He'd almost forgotten what it was like to have an evening off just to relax.

Thalia stretched her legs straight, leaning against the wall of their safe house. "Well, let's try some javelin practice after lunch, shall we?"

"Okay." Luke finished off a muffin and took a drink of water. Thalia, who'd already eaten her can of apples, was cleaning her collapsible Mace canister with a rag. She had a muffin in her mouth, too. By the time they'd finished eating lunch, the sun was blazing above them.

In a few minutes, Thalia and Luke were facing one another, both grinning. "Ready?" Luke said.

"Go!"

Immediately, Luke brought his javelin up to block Thalia's first strike. Thalia parried, and swung her javelin over her head to gain momentum. Luke took his chance and thrust his javelin point at Thalia's chest, but she dodged and brought her javelin sweeping in an arch straight at Luke's head. He ducked, and Thalia's javelin missed his head by inches. Luke attacked again, copying Thalia's previous move. Thalia ducked as the javelin swung over her head and tried sweeping Luke's legs off the ground. Luke, however, saw the trick coming and dodged, thrusting his javelin at Thalia, who was now on the ground. She grabbed the shaft of Luke's javelin and yanked it down onto the ground beside her, leaping up.

The two circled each other, each waiting for the other to strike. It was Thalia who made the first move. Throwing all her weight into the move, she knocked Luke's javelin aside with a sweep of her own. Luke's guard was wide open now, and Thalia brought her javelin down only to meet his again. She twisted hard, and Luke's javelin fell with a clang, hers an inch from his chest.

Thalia grinned.

"Teach me that move!" Luke demanded.

And so they spent the rest of the afternoon practicing over and over again. Never before in her life had Thalia felt more relaxed. It had been weeks since they'd had time to practice for an entire evening. At night, Luke lit the kerosene lamp and sat next to Thalia, eating the food they'd stolen from the convenience store.

Luke was telling a joke to Thalia, but he failed to continue as they both began laughin hysterically. Thalia couldn't control herself. She laughed until her stomach hurt, with Luke, her best friends, alongside her, And in that instant, Thalia realized why Luke meant so much to her. Family wasn't about blood, it was about loyalty and love. Luke had been her family when she'd had none, and he'd given her a new hope. Never before had she realized just how precious hope was. He'd given her something to live for.

Luke seemed to be on the verge of choking. Thalia thumped him on the back, hard. Luke recovered himself. "Anyways, do you want to ear another story? No? Well, I'll tell it anyways. See, there was once a young demigod, a son of Hermes, who was on the run. He was incredibly clever, not to menion handsome as well." Luke grinned. Thalia had a distinct feeling that he was describing himself. Luke went on, telling story after story about his clever tricks, and about how he'd once broken into a hotel and slept in it for a night and sneaked out the next day, leaving everybody completely confounded.

Finally, Thalia couldn't contain her laughter anymore. She could just picture a younger Luke breaking into the hotel and laughing over it with himself later. A laugh hitched in her throat, and she doubled over. Luke started to laugh, too. Never before had she felt so free.

The candlelight danced in Luke's eyes, illuminating them. For a second, they looked almost gold. Thalia shivered. The momentary flash of gold sent a chill down her back. She leaned against the wall of their safe house, eating her muffin. Luke was next to her, also silent. Thalia sighed. How long would it be before she could feel another night like this? Not attacks, no fights, just peace.

"Keep teaching me that move?" Luke asked.

"Tomorrow," Thalia promised, a smile tugging at her lips.

"You still can't beat me at hand-to-hand combat," Luke said.

"You know, if it weren't for the fact that I like you so much, I'd have killed you by now," Thalia said. It was an oblivious comment, but Luke reddened.

"Well I am pretty much the only one who can play pranks on you and not get electrocuted," he said.

"Don't push your luck."

Luke watched as Thalia ate ardently. The light warmed her cold blue eyes, which were still roving around the safe house, as if expecting an attack at any moment. Right now, sitting in their safe house, Luke was the happiest he'd been in weeks. "Hungry, are we?" he said, as Thalia devoured another candy bar.

Thalia stopped eating to glare at him. By now, he was so used to her death glares that he laughed. After a moment, Thalia's scowl faded.

And so the two of them ate, each laughing at the other's jokes and relaxing for the first time in weeks. It was a wonderful sensation, leaning against the wall of their safe house, eating, and laughing. Luke was using Thalia for target practice as he launched muffins at her. She was laughing, dodging, and trying to get close enough to tackle him. It ended in Thalia pinning Luke to the ground. She was laughing, and Luke was wrestling her again. In the end, Luke surrendered and they finished eating, sitting back to back. Luke could feel Thalia beside him, and he leaned against her, soaking in her warmth. She handed him a muffin. "I'll take first watch."

"I'll stay up with you for a while." Luke said.

Thalia eyed him suspiciously, but she followed him out of the safe house. Outside, Thalia leaned against the wall of their safe house. Above her, countless constellations glittered in the sky. Kallisto, Orion, Andromeda…

"Thalia?"

"Yeah?"

"What's wrong?'

"Nothing."

But Luke could tell that something was wrong. They stood in silence for a few more minutes, each looking up at the night sky and waiting for the other to speak. Finally, Luke broke the silence. "Should we move on again tomorrow? Build another safe house a couple miles from here?"

"No," said Thalia. She wanted to stay here as long as possible, to hold onto this shred of a home for as long as she could.

Gently, Luke slid his fingers through Thalia's. Thalia's breath caught. She could feel Luke next to her, see his figure out of the corner of her eyes. It was if time had frozen. And then Luke was facing her, his blue eyes seemingly lit up, his smile wide. Without warning, unbidden memories came rushing.

_Watching the safe house they had built with their bare hands burning down. Luke sparring with her, using the very moves she had taught him. And of course, despair. That feeling that engulfed her when she stared into the sky, knowing that it was just a matter of time before her family was torn apart again. After all, that was what always happened, wasn't it? Lying next to Luke on the damp grass, staring up at the starry sky, Luke's fingers around hers. The third night in a row without being attacked. Falling asleep next to Luke in their safe house. Sitting in their safe house next to Luke, eating the remains of their food, and feeling, for the first time in her life, happy. Praying, night after night for her father. Curse him.  
_

"Thalia?" Luke said quietly.

"Hmm?" Thalia snapped herself out of her trance.

"Are you alright?"

Thalia didn't answer. She wanted this moment to last as long as possible, to hold on to this feeling for as long as she could. Because she knew that it would end. Right when she thought her family was complete, right when she'd found a home, it had been broken.

Luke seemed to understand. He tilted his face so that their eyes locked. He leaned on the wall of their safe house next to her. For a long moment, neither of them spoke. Thalia felt her heart thudding against her chest, and it wasn't because of the cold. Luke had closed the space between them so that they were barely an inch apart. It was deathly silent, with the occasional snap of a branch or the hoot of an owl. Above them, the moon was a crescent, surrounded by a thousand glittering lights. Peace. Something Thalia had not felt for weeks. Rights now, right here, she felt at peace with the world. But it wouldn't last.

She shivered as a sharp wind blew, and Luke put an arm around her waist. Thalia leaned against him. Luke was the only solid thing in her life right now.

"What is it, Thalia?" Luke asked quietly.

"What?"

"You're thinking about something. I can tell. It's the only time you don't scowl as much."

Thalia kicked him in the shins. Despite her murderous glare, Luke was grinning. "I meant it. You've been acting different lately. Almost like…last time." The words hung in the air. A few weeks ago, they'd been attacked by a Fury at their safe house, a different one from this. Something had been taken out of Thalia as she'd watched their safe house, their home that they'd built with their bare hands, burn to the ground.

Luke fell silent, his grip tightening around her fingers. Ever since he'd first met her, Luke had been terrified of losing her. But as time passed, he'd learned to enjoy the good moments for as long as possible, to live those few moments of real life to the fullest. Because all good things came to an end.

Luke bit into a candy bar. Thalia started, her eyes widening. "That was in my pocket!" Sure enough, the candy that had been in her jacket pocket just minutes ago was gone. "You—you—"

Luke laughed, his blue eyes twinkling mischievously. "You don't know it was me."

Thalia tackled him, shoving him onto the ground. Luke was stronger than, her, as he'd always been, being two years older than her. For a few seconds, they wrestled on the grass. Luke grappled with his uninjured arm, but even so, Thalia could barely keep up with him. And then Thalia laughed, the sound breaking from her, freeing itself into the night air. She doubled over. It had been so long since she'd last felt this. Luke was laughing too, and for the first time in weeks, Thalia was _happy._

Somehow, the grapple ended in an embrace, with Luke whispering in her ear, promising her that it would be alright. Thalia wanted so badly to believe him, and right then, right there, just for a moment, she did.

**Author's Note:**

**Thank you to all those who reviewed! Annabeth, is going to come into the story pretty soon, and eventually Grover too. I'm trying ******really **hard to copy the way Rick Riordan manages to incorporate humor into practically every sentence, but I guess it's not working. I will try to update as quickly as possible.  
**


	3. We Blow Up a Rest Stop

"Agh!" Thalia yelped as she leapt to her feet, drawing her spear instinctively. Before she could register why she was soaking wet, she heard a choking sound behind her, and she spun around. Luke was doubling over with laughter. In his hands he held an empty bottle of water. _Now _she knew why she was wet. Thalia considered blasting Luke with electricity.

"Morning," Luke managed.

Thalia slammed into him, knocking him into the ground. For a moment, they grappled, until Luke pinned her. Laughing, he got up. Thalia, still glowering, spit out, "Did it have to be ice water?"

"Sorry, Thalia, but it was from the ice chest. I put it in there last night." Luke, still grinning, helped her to her feet. "So what do you want to do today, assuming we live?"

Thalia hesitated. "I think we should start looking for highway rest stops. We'll probably get attacked again, soon, and we'll need somewhere to stay."

"Fine."

They set off towards town. They'd often traveled by the highway, when they wanted to leave a place in particular after being attacked, and it was during one of their nights in the rest stops that Luke had taught Thalia how to steal from vending machines. She'd laughed as he'd showed her the trick, claiming that he was brilliant. Luke remembered his face heating up at the compliment. He remembered the old times, when he and Thalia would sleep in the rest stops and stock up on food from the vending machines. The never stayed more than a few days, because there was always the risk of discovery. They'd had a few close calls before, and they could never stay too long in one place, because of the monsters that attacked. If they were heading somewhere, or better, away from somewhere, they typically traveled the streets during the day and entered the highway at an entrance close to a rest stop at night.

Luke remembered a particularly spacious and clean rest stop they had once encountered. The two of them had stolen a pack of food from the vending machine, and spent the night at a small 24-hour restaurant in the rest stop. Luke had picked up some spare money, and they had bought an actual meal with it. Luke remembered sitting next to Thalia in the booth, the place lit up with hanging lights, watching night fall outside. The two of them had laughed over dinner, and spent the night planning for the next day. He remembered Thalia pointing out the constellations to him, and the waitress remarking what a cute couple they were. Luke flushed at the memory. He'd nearly spewed out his drink when the waitress had said that. He remembered spending the night telling Thalia all the ancient Greek myths he'd heard of before, and the stories of the old Greek heroes.

Thalia led them out of the woods. Judging by the sun, it was late morning already, and people streamed into the streets. Luke tried to keep his golf club out of view as they made their way through the streets. He didn't think he'd need it soon, since Thalia said they'd be back by sundown, but experience told him to bring it along just in case something went wrong. The last time he had made the mistake of not bringing his golf club along when he and Thalia went to find something to eat, they had nearly gotten killed by a fire-breathing dragon.

Luke winced at the memory. He and Thalia had gotten attacked right out of the blue. The dragon had been fairly small, but even so, it had been a close call. Not that his golf club could have done much against the monster.

Luke tightened his grip on his weapon. It might not be much, but it was all he had, after the Celestial bronze sword he had left his mother's house with had been melted by acid (long story that you really don't want to hear). Thalia cut a path easily through the streets, with her black punk cloths and piercing electric blue eyes that looked like she was going to attack you at any second. Although she held no visible weapon, her confident aura alone was enough to scare off any monster with half a brain, which apparently none of the monsters had.

The highway was pretty far from their safe house, so he and Thalia spent most of the morning weaving through the streets and constantly glancing over their shoulders. Luke could not shake the feeling that something was watching them. It was almost noon when Thalia spotted the highway and they made their way through an entrance. Luke was out of breath. They had entered through the entrance closest to a rest stop. "It can't be far. We just went past that sign." Thalia put on a burst of speed, and Luke had to run to keep up with her. "Come on, we don't want to be spotted on the highway." Luke had to agree. That was why they always stayed clear of the highway until a rest stop was near an entrance.

"Look!" Thalia looked up. Luke was pointing ahead, at the outline of the rest stop mentioned on the sign. "Come on!" Thalia raced to catch up with him. It was high noon, and she was hoping they could pick up something to eat in the vending machines. She and Luke skirted the edge of the highway, steering clear of the road and running full speed towards the rest stop.

By the time they reached it, Luke was out of breath. "Let's get something to eat." Thalia didn't object. The vending machine room was full of people, though. And it looked like they weren't going anywhere anytime soon. Thalia collapsed on one of the benches, and Luke sat next to her. Normally, they waited until night so that everybody had left before they stocked up from the vending machines, but it was still hours away. Thalia decided to make the most out of the time. They spent the rest of the afternoon sitting and quietly sharpening their weapons. Luke propped his golf club against the wall next to him. He felt weird carrying a golf club around, but he wasn't about to leave without his only weapon. His stomach was grumbling. _Chips. Candy bars. Hamburgers. Fries. _

_Shut up, _he told it. Thalia looked bored, idly twisting her short locks and crossing her legs. The people were giving her a wide berth, mostly likely because of her punk clothes and her I'm-gonna-kill-you aura. The spent the rest of the afternoon quietly talking about the last attack, and planning to throw Hades off their track. He was sending more and more monster after them now. It used to be the occasional hellhound, but a while back, a Fury had attacked them and burned down their safe house. Luke had a feeling that the attack had scared Thalia a lot more than she was letting on.

It was night by the time Luke noticed. By then, everyone had left the room, although the lights were still on. Looking over her shoulder just in case, Thalia knelt next to a vending machine and drew out the metal wire that she always kept in her belt. Luke had taught her long ago how to steal from vending machines. When she had first showed Luke her tricks, he'd been impressed. She knew how to hotwire cars and trip up vending machines even better than he did. Ever since then, Luke and Thalia had shared with each other all their secret ways of stealing from vending machines and other tips.

Thalia tossed Luke a couple of Snickers bars, and he stuffed them into his pack. He laughed as Thalia kicked the vending machine, which was refusing to deliver more candy bars. "Here." Luke hit it gently on the side, and two more candy bars fell out.

Thalia reached in and grabbed them, stuffing one inside her pack. She crossed over to the bench again and sat down, unwrapping her candy bar. Luke sat next to her.

The room was silent, and Thalia finished her snack and leaned against the wall. Luke couldn't help noticing how relaxed she seemed, no longer so alert. It had been weeks since he'd seen her relax her stance. Luke produced another Snickers bar. Grinning, he split it with Thalia.

"How do you do that?" Thalia demanded. "I didn't even see you take it."

"That's what a genius I am," Luke replied, his grin widening.

Thalia laughed. She couldn't help it. She took out her knife and began sharpening it. It was a habit, even though her knife didn't need sharpening. Just then, Luke seemed to sense something. He leapt to his feet, tightening his grip on his weapon, and sprinted out of the door. Thalia felt a chill go down her spine. Something was outside. She ran for the door immediately, her Mace canister expanding into a spear. Right before she reached the doorway, something slammed into her with the force of a grenade. Thalia managed to shield herself from the worst of it. Looking around to see what had caused the explosion, she saw that Luke had drawn his golf club. Before him loomed a Fury. Thalia recognized her instantly as Alecto. She was hovering several feet above the ground, flames dancing from her whip. Luke cursed in ancient Greek, slashing at the Fury, trying to buy Thalia enough time to get to her feet. Thalia's Mace canister expanded immediately in a spear, and she turned to face Alecto.

"Ah, daughter of Zeus," Alecto rasped, her glowing yellow eyes fixed on Thalia's face, which was currently devoid of color. "My master has spoken of you, and I have had the pleasure of knowing that you will die at the hands of none other than my own."

"We'll see about that," Thalia said, making an attempt at bravado although her heart was racing.

"Over here, Tartarus scum!" Luke yelled, brandishing his golf club, which he'd seized from the ground. Alecto ignored him.

"Die, daughter of Zeus!"

Thalia lunged with her spear, but Alecto was too fast. She dove past the strike and lunged at Thalia. Thalia's knife skittered across the floor as she was knocked backwards by the blow. She scrambled upright again, defenseless, ignoring the searing pain in her leg. A second later she collapsed again, her damaged leg unable to hold her weight any longer. Her knife lay next to her foot, but she couldn't even reach for it. Luke sprinted in front of her, swinging with his golf club, although he knew it was no good against Alecto. Cackling, Alecto sent Luke flying sideways. Luke was disoriented for a moment, dimly aware of a burning pain in his side. Thalia locked eyes with him. Alecto stood over her, cackling, and in one swift movement, Thalia kicked her fallen knife towards Luke, who grabbed it. As Alecto lunged at Thalia, Luke stabbed her from behind. With a howl, she disintegrated, leaving behind an echo of her scream.

Luke helped Thalia to her feet. She'd landed on it the wrong way when she fell, and probably twisted it. Luke, on the other hand, was worse off by far. Alecto had given him a deep cut in his side with her fiery whip.

Thalia ordered Luke to lie down, and gently poured a few drops of nectar onto his wound. Luke winced. He insisted that Thalia drink a few drops too. Despite her stubborn insistence that she could stand by herself, Luke could see that she was ready to collapse.

Thalia didn't reply. They were losing supplies and weapons. Monsters were attacking more often. It was getting more and more desperate. Hades seemed to be bent on killing her. Of course he was. "Luke, you know that Hades is after me. You'd have a better chance of surviving without me."

"You were the one who wanted to team up in the first place," Luke cut her off. "You said we'd have a better chance of surviving together."

"Luke, without me, you'd attract less monsters. We both know that three quarters of the monsters, at least, were sent by Hades."

"Thalia, look at me." Luke grabbed Thalia by the shoulders, forcing her to look him in the eyes. "There is no way I'm leaving you. I don't care how many monsters Hades sends after us. We'll make it, as long as we're together." His voice dropped. "You're the reason I've kept on going, Thalia. Because I know that we can make it, no matter what comes at us, as long as I have you." Luke took her hand, and they leaned against the wall of their safe house. Luke was so close to her now that she could feel his warmth. "I'm never leaving you," he whispered. Thalia's breathing quickened, realizing how close they were. Luke's heart was thudding as he leaned closer to her. Thalia felt Luke's arm around her waist, gently guiding her closer. His lips met hers. She felt as if everything else in the world didn't exist anymore. Their safe house could blow up for all she cared. Thalia could feel her cheeks reddening furiously. It was lucky that Luke couldn't see her face from up close. He put both of his arms around her and pulled her closer. Thalia could feel her heartbeat quickening.

And then Luke pulled away, a small smile on the edge of his lips. Thalia was sure that she was still blushing. He had the ability to sweep her off her feet without so much as a blink. Curse him. They had kissed before, but it had mostly been short, brief kisses on the cheek. The last time they had actually kissed…gods, her face got hot just thinking about it.

It had been right after an attack, and Thalia had lunged in front of him when she'd seen the poisoned spike coming. She remembered Luke cursing her stupidity, calling her an idiot for taking that spike for him. Back in their safe house, while he'd given her nectar, Luke had kissed her. She'd been in the middle of saying that she was fine, and telling him to stop being an idiot, and suddenly, Luke had kissed her.

Luke grinned. "What are you thinking about, Thalia?"

Thalia blushed. "Nothing."

"Nothing?" Luke raised an eyebrow. "Well then why do you look like something's bothering you? Is it the heat?" He could barely contain his laughter.

Thalia glowered at him. Normally, Luke was the one who would blush when Thalia pecked his cheek or gave him a compliment. She had underestimated his ability to completely disarm her.

"Come on, Thalia." Luke put an arm around her, ignoring her scowl. She leaned against him, blushing against her will. She wanted to enjoy the moment for as long as she could, because she knew that it would end too soon. It was like this every time. She was tired of running, tired of her life blown apart again and again right after she had found a home. Tired of being hunted simply for the crime of being born. Her worst fear was that Luke, the only family she had left, would be taken from her too. It had happened every time, her mother, her father, her brother. But she wouldn't let it happen again. Anger flared in her now. She would not give in, not even if Hades threw a hundred monsters at her. She wouldn't let her family fall apart again, not the first real family she'd ever had. Family was not her cold father and drunken mother. It was Luke, right here, right now. It was sitting next to him and looking at the stars rising outside the window, leaning into him as she drank in the peace, the peace that she knew would not last.

Luke tightened his arm around Thalia, wondering what she was thinking. It was at times like this, when she got that look in her eyes like she was a million miles away, that she truly looked peaceful. He used to watch her sleep, because he so rarely saw her peaceful. He had been the first person to break through her barriers and get a glimpse of her at her weakest times, something she showed no one except him.

Just then, a shadow flickered out of the corner of Luke's vision. Immediately, he drew his golf club, Thalia tensed, her body rigid, ready for action. It was a goat, grazing innocently on a patch of clover. She, Luke decided that it was a she, had the curlicue horns of a ram, and her gray fur seemed to glow. Luke's muscles relaxed instantly, cursing himself for being so stupid. But the goat raised its head, and for a moment, it seemed to be staring right at them. There was something unnerving about it. Thalia's eyes widened, a flicker of hope surging through her.

"Amaltheia," she whispered.

* * *

**Author's Note**

**I am so sorry I haven't updated in such a long time. Basically, life happened. Or school, if you want to be specific. It's almost all over now, and pretty soon, I'll be able to update a lot quicker. Please read and review. I just want to clarify, this will not be a fanfiction that reminisces on the old times on the run with Luke, Thalia, and Annabeth and ends with Luke dead and Thalia a Hunter. This will change the endings, give the Great Prophecy a slightly different meaning, but don't worry, all your favorite characters like Percy will appear, and *hint* spoiler, maybe a few Romans like Jason and Reyna. Although this fanfiction is based on Luke, Thalia, and Annabeth, I've always wanted to expand a bit on Jason and Reyna's time at Camp Jupiter before they come into the story. Anyway, quoting Leo, peace out. :)  
-Aurora  
**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note:  
**

**I am so, so sorry, but this is not a real chapter. I had a bit of a writer's block, but to make up for long wait, I decided to give you a short chapter I did a while ago. It is set after Luke and Annabeth arrive at camp, and it is the year Annabeth gets a bead of a Greek trireme on fire for the summer. Here is the story of how it happened. The scene begins with Luke and Annabeth on the roof of the Zeus Cabin. I hope to post the real chapter soon.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson**

Suddenly, a loud round of cracks and explosions sounded in the distance. The fireworks had begun. Every this far away, Annabeth heard the whooping and cheering of the campers, and suddenly wished that she were down there with them, laughing and dancing around the lake, watching the reflection of the fireworks dancing on them like a million exploding stars. But being up here, lying on her stomach next to Luke, watching the brilliant fireworks from the rooftop of the Zeus cabin, she felt like the happiest person in the world. It didn't matter that she was missing out on her friends laughing and dancing, as long as she was with Luke. Luke didn't miss the sad smile on her face as she heard the faraway cheers as another round of fireworks burst into the sky.

A golden centaur cantered across the sky before exploding into a shower of purple and green. Gold and silver arrows fired across the sky in a high arc, before exploding in unison into red, white, and blue drops. A single gold arrow with a tail of flame shot into the sky and burst into an image of an archer running across the sky. The most spectacular one was a round purple flames fanning across the sky, eating away the shadows and weaving into the silvery blue moonlight. Screams and shouts of delight echoed from the lake. Silvery stars exploded against the dark blue background, the moonlight illuminating the reflection on the lake.

The Apollo campers began to sing, leading the rest of the campers into 'Down by the Aegean.' It was Annabeth's favorite song. It sang of a valley down by the Aegean Sea, filled with laughter and life. Legend was, decades ago, an Apollo camper with a voice like Charmspeak sang the song to her demigod friends to keep them going as they made their way to Camp.

The campers' voices rose, singing of the hidden valley where waterfalls sparkled like showers of diamonds, and lakes froze like a crystal surface in winter. Where even the rain could not reach them unless the gods allowed it. Where storms never darkened the sky, where monsters never penetrated. Where children grew up safely in the protection of the gods. She knew Luke always laughed at the last line. _Protection of the gods. Like they ever cared whether we live or die, _he'd say.

She knew that Luke and Thalia would curse the gods at night, when they thought she was asleep. She could understand the bitterness Luke felt against his father, but the place the song sang of was exactly how she'd first pictured Camp.

Luke could see Annabeth wanted to join her siblings down at the lake. "Come on." Luke pulled Annabeth back down the ladder. "Race you to the lake."

They both took off. A laugh tore its way out of her as Annabeth raced him towards the sound of laughter and singing. The wind fanned her hair out behind her, unraveling the braid. Annabeth was laughing as she struggled to keep up with Luke. She felt as free as the leaves that sailed with the wind, as carefree as the birds that skimmed and raced each other across the surface of the lake. Luke was grinning at her, teasingly turning to face her so that he was running backwards. Annabeth put on a burst of speed, and by the time they reached the lake, both of them were winded and laughing hysterically, Luke a step ahead of her.

A Greek trireme was in the middle of the lake, manned by the Hephaestus Cabin, who were shooting fireworks into the sky with the ballistae. Annabeth let herself get pulled away by Malcolm, and joined in with the singing. Meanwhile, Silena was laughing as she was trying to teach Luke how to dance (read: _trying_). Luke was trying not to step on her feet as she pulled him around in circles with the music. Silena's dark hair was pulled into a long a delicate braid that fanned out at the end, and it was decorated with glittering blue ornaments that sparkled in the moonlight. She didn't seem to notice the circle of boys around her.

Torches illuminated the dancing and changing colors of the lake. Blue, green, silver, and black, the colors weaving like the aurora of the north**(hence my name, hehe)**. Heavy curtains of blue and green skimmed with the waves, and for a moment, Annabeth almost couldn't believe where she was.

Suddenly, a scream pierced the air. Nyssa's. "Abandon ship! Abandon ship!"

Annabeth couldn't believe her eyes. The trireme that had been firing the fireworks into the sky had caught on fire. Bright red flames were quickly expanding as Hephaestus campers leapt overboard. Campers started yelling and jumping into the lake. Annabeth raced with the more rational campers to pull the small canoes out onto the lake. Grabbing a javelin because there were no more paddles, she jumped into a canoe with three other campers. One held a wooden sword for a paddle. As they rowed out onto the lake, avoiding the campers that were swimming towards the trireme, Annabeth quickly unloaded her weapons, all except for her knife.

Once they were close enough to the flaming trireme, Annabeth plunged overboard. The water was freezing, and momentarily disoriented, she dropped the javelin in the water and kicked out towards the side of the ship. Connor pulled her up, and they rushed to join the campers beating out the flames. How the _Hades_ had a Greek battle ship caught on fire in the middle of the lake? The sail was flaming, and four campers were trying to rip it down while the rest were putting out the flaming masthead. Annabeth joined the demigods trying to tear down the sail, and a camper tumbled into the water with the sail.

The smoke was starting to clear. Out of the corner of her vision, she could see Luke pouring a pail of water over the burning masthead. Naiads, nymphs, and satyrs alike were clambering over the ship to put out the fire. Naiads called the water to douse the ship, while satyrs played water tunes on their reed pipes, drenching campers as well as the fires. Finally, after what seemed like hours, the fire died completely.

"_Di immortales!_ How the _Hades _did the cursed ship catch on fire?" Clarisse, spluttering and pulling herself out of the water, finally voiced the question everyone else had been wondering.

"Umm," Jake began in a small voice, cowering under Clarisse's stormy glare. "We sort of…misfired the ballistae?"

"_Misfired the ballistae?_" Clarisse all but screamed. Will Solace put a hand on her shoulder. "Calm down, Clarisse."

Chiron, who had miraculously appeared on deck, cantered over to assess the damage. Almost half the ship had been burned down. The beautiful masthead of a Greek centaur rearing on his hind legs and pulling back an arrow was completely destroyed, and demigods in canoes were fishing campers and weaponry out of the water. Silena was trying to calm down a sister whose perfect hair had been singed away half a centimeter. Her own face was covered with soot, but Silena didn't seem to mind.

Annabeth examined her own clothes. Her orange Camp Half-Blood T-shirt was soaking wet, but otherwise unharmed. Her jeans were covered in ash, and the left leg was heavily singed. At least an inch of her hair on the right side had been singed away, and she shook the water droplets out of it before tying it back with a piece of cloth ripped from her jeans.

"Well," Beckendorf said, laughing. "This may just make the event of the summer for this year's beads." He ignored Clarisse's death glare.


	5. We Follow a Crazy Goat

"Why are we following this goat?" Luke demanded.

"Just trust me, Luke, she's important." Thalia trudged on, leaving Luke in the dust. They had been following the goat for a day and a night already. Last night, they had been forced to spend the night on the streets again because the goat had led them east in the direction of Richmond. It was late morning, and no one else seemed to be able to see the goat. Luke had heard of the Mist before, from his mother, although he wasn't sure exactly how it worked. The few times mortals had witnessed Luke and Thalia being attacked by monsters, most of them had run away screaming. Luke pushed the memory out of his mind. The last thing he needed was to be thinking about his mother. _Don't think about her,_ Luke commanded himself. _You did what you had to do._

He and Thalia had split a Snickers bar for breakfast, and Luke had a few more stuffed in his pack. They weren't going to last very long, so he hoped that at least the crazy goat was leading them somewhere they could stock up again. Why Thalia was intent on following it, she still hadn't told him, but Luke had learned not to question her judgment. What he didn't understand was why Thalia had seemed almost frightened when she first saw the goat. Luke quickly ran through all the ancient Greek names he knew. No goat. Unless you counted the ram skinned for the Golden Fleece. Luke trusted Thalia enough to follow her even if she decided to head into the Underworld, but he couldn't shake the feeling that this goat had been watching them for a long time. It certainly didn't seem malevolent, with its curlicue horns and innocent eyes, but it had been sent by someone, Luke was sure of it. But if Thalia trusted it, then that was reason enough for Luke to follow it.

The goat was now crossing the street, oblivious to the traffic around it. Thalia grabbed Luke by the wrist and dragged him across with her. Despite following for quite some time, Thalia had never once approached it, and took care to put a certain distance between them. Whenever they got close, it would disappear and reappear again somewhere else. Luke was more than beginning to suspect that the goat was leading them on some wild goose chase. If they somehow wound up in the Underworld, he would be sure to remind Thalia that it had been her idea to follow the stupid goat.

Finally, after another hour of trailing the goat at a distance, Luke couldn't stand it anymore. "Thalia, what is so important about this goat?" he asked impatiently, as they stopped to lean against a wall for a short break.

Thalia sighed. "Look, I can't be sure now, but Luke, do you trust me?" Her electric blue eyes met his.

The question caught him off guard. "Of course I do."

"Then just go along with it for a while, okay? I can't explain it now."

Luke nodded mutely. Thalia had never once questioned his judgment before, either. She always knew what she was doing, even if she couldn't explain it to him. So Luke followed her for another hour, until they stopped to rest again when the goat disappeared. It was sure to reappear again sometime later, but for now, they settled down in an alleyway to eat lunch. A tiny cat that might have once been white crept up beside them and mewed. Thalia tossed it a cracker. The cat snuggled up next to Thalia, settling its head near Luke's golf club. Luke considered petting it.

Thalia unwrapped another Snickers bar and offered it to Luke. Everyone else had looked directly through the goat, but a few of them were staring at the two kids leaning against a wall and splitting candy bars. Luke wondered at the power of the Mist, and thoughts of his mother resurfaced again. _The Mist is a powerful thing,_ she'd told him. _It can fool even demigods. Always remember that you have clear sight in your blood. Never be tricked by the Mist into overlooking monsters._

Although he had not inherited her clear sight, he had always been good at recognizing monsters and traps. Like demigods, they gave off a powerful aura. According to his mother and a few of the demigod friends he had made while on the run, demigods gave off a certain scent that attracted monsters. Luke could always sense the power whether it was a demigod or a monster. Maybe it had something to do with his mother's clear sight.

Luke had retold most of his mother's stories to Thalia, although each time it hurt to recall his mother's sweet, delicate voice telling him the myths. He had the faintest memory of his father. A pair of blue eyes staring down at him. A laughing man with salt-and-pepper hair, with his arm around May Castellan's waist. His mother. Young and beautiful, without the gray streaks in her hair. Eyes without that fractured gaze, bright with laughter and love. He could barely remember a time when the curse hadn't turned her mind completely. He remembered her first fit, when he had run upstairs to hide after slipping out of her vice-like grip. He'd had nightmares for weeks afterwards.

While they finished off their short meal, Luke recounted another one of the myths his mother told him. The one about Perseus. He had told this one to Thalia before, on a dark night, by the light of the pilfered kerosene lamp that lit up their safe house. It was a favorite of Thalia's, because Perseus was one of the few Greek heroes that got a happy ending.

"Did your mother tell you this?" The question caught Luke off guard.

"Yeah." His mother. She had been the one to tell his everything about the mythical world. "She said she wanted me to remember that demigods did get happy endings, even if it seemed like every Greek hero in the myths died."

Thalia snorted. "Just about. Wonder what Perseus did to get the Fates to like him."

Luke laughed softly. They used to joke about the Fates, on the darkest nights, sometimes right after an attack. It was their way of making light in the dark. Of laughing at the Fates. It somehow made everything easier to bear, to have someone to joke with about the monsters.

"Maybe he asked them to make him the first hero in living memory to live past twenty?" The corners of Luke's mouth turn upwards.

Thalia burst out laughing, laughing until she couldn't breathe. There was really nothing funny about it, but right then, she desperately needed something to laugh about. "Have you ever wondered about the future? About what happens after?"

"After what? We're too busy trying to stay alive to wonder about the future." Luke meant it. Every day, his only wish was to live until nightfall.

"About what happens after all this is over, if it ever ends. About you and me?"

Luke reddened. In truth, he had sometimes let himself think about the future. About a future with Thalia. Of course, he knew that to hope for an actual life was only setting himself up for disappointment. But he still hoped. It was the only thing keeping him going. The hope that, however long this nightmare seemed, he would someday find a home with Thalia someday. Someday. Even though he knew it was impossible, even though he knew he wasn't likely to live past his twenties, he still hoped. Hope was even more dangerous than monsters. It could either preserve him or destroy him. As long as he had something to fight for, as long as he knew hope wasn't lost completely, he could fight through anything.

The goat reappeared later, after they finished, and Luke and Thalia followed it for the rest of the afternoon, until it led them to the edge of Richmond, to a deserted street. By then, it was nightfall already, and Luke was hungry. The goat seemed to have disappeared for the night. Luke was hoping it wouldn't come back.

They decided to settle down in the opening of a narrow lane between two buildings, right under a low apartment balcony. The sky was darkening now, the ashy clouds gathering above them, blocking out the sun, darkening the streets. The streetlights were on now, and they lit up the narrow lane enough for Thalia to make out Luke's face.

She could tell he was still thinking about his mother. Thalia flashed back on her own mother. Beryl Grace. In some of the pictures Thalia had seen, her mother had once been beautiful. There was one picture that Thalia remembered in particular. A laughing woman with blue eyes and hair that seemed to catch fire in the sunlight, swinging a baby Thalia on her hip, laughing in the arms of a handsome, dark-haired man with electric blue eyes like her own. Thalia had inherited her father's dark hair and blue eyes, and Jason had gotten his mother's fair hair.

She remembered watching his first step, hearing his first word: Thalia. Her father had been different than she imagined when he came back. Sterner and more fatherly, and often speaking in Latin, which Thalia struggled to understand. _Aut vinci aut mori, _he'd often told her. _Conquer or die._ She had a feeling she'd heard that somewhere before, as if it were some famous saying.

Luke was twisting an empty Snickers bar wrapper in his hands now, his eyes fixed on the sky, which was beginning to darken with heavy clouds. Finally, he spoke up. "Can you remember a time your mother was better?"

Thalia sighed. "Mom used to get drunk and stumble around the house. The few times she was sober…she wasn't much better. She never gave a damn about me. She didn't even ask where I ate my meals, because she certainly never cooked for me." Her voice changed, almost wistful. "Sometimes, a few years ago, in the better times, she would tell me about my father. She got worse and worse as time passed, but I remember, when I was really little…she used to tell me how he made the sky rumble for her. He even took her up into the sky to watch a storm once."

Thalia's words cut through him like glass. His mother had been better too, during the early years. She once had beautiful fair hair like a waterfall down her back, now streaked with gray, and he could faintly recall her laughing and swinging him around on her hip. She had told him stories, once, too. About the Mist, about Olympus, and most of all, about his father. "Mom used to be like that too," Luke said, reaching out for Thalia's hand. "She used to tell me all about my father. Said he visited her too. Of course, I could never be too sure if that really happened, or if she was just…" Luke trailed off.

Thalia stiffened. Luke had told her about his mother, and her fits. However, she doubted it would have addled her memory. _I've never told anyone this, _he'd whispered one cold night in their safe house.

"And if he came, why didn't he ever see me?" Luke's voice was angry. "How come he never thought to check on his son?"

Thalia sighed. "The gods are all the same. They don't care about us." She recalled the bitterness on those cold and desperate nights, when she used to pray for her father. _He won't answer, _Luke had told her. _You think I haven't tried?_ Thalia crossed her legs. Luke never talked about his family in detail, but Thalia couldn't exactly say she did either. She had never told Luke about her brother Jason, although she had come close, once. It was just too painful to retell, and a strange feeling told her to keep it to herself, although she couldn't name it.

Thalia shivered. The cold wind whipped past her, blowing her short hair into her eyes. Luke continued. "The stuff she used to say scared me more than her fits. Stuff about my fate, and something terrible, so much that it scared her out of her wits when she _saw_…" Luke trailed off. He had never told Thalia in detail about his mother's screaming, because he was too busy trying to stay alive to wonder about the terrible things May Castellan had seen in his future.

"What exactly did she say?" Thalia asked gently.

"Something about a sacrifice…and a betrayal." Luke didn't meet her eyes.

Thalia slid her hand into his. "I know you'd never betray anyone, Luke. Your mother may have foreseen something wrong. You were the best thing that happened to me since the day I ran away."

Luke reddened at the compliment. He turned away, hiding his blush. "Well, whatever it was, it scared her a lot." He looked down. "Thalia…When I was younger, it was better, and she told me about how there was a curse. She could see through the Mist. It's what they call clear sight."

Luke had never told her this before. "Clear sight?"

"Some mortals are born with it," Luke explained. "Mom never told me why, but it was because of her clear sight that she got…cursed. Those visions…they were the future." Luke stopped.

Thalia turned so that her back was to the wind. Luke put his arm around her and pulled her close. She leaned on him, soaking in his warmth. Luke rarely talked about his mother. "This curse, it was because she tried to do something with her clear sight. And it didn't turn out well." He blinked, his throat tightening at the faint memory of the old days, when she used to sit by his bed and tell him stories. Thalia tightened her hand around his.

"Well, it's no use reminiscing about the better times." Her voiced hardened. "We're alone in the world now, and it's all we can do to stay alive."

"But we're not alone," Luke said. "We'll never be alone. I don't care if my father abandons me, as long as I have you." The tenderness in his eyes masked the pain. But he did care. He remembered, he used to dream of his father coming home again, of making him proud. Thalia knew what he was thinking, because she had so often thought of it herself.

She used to dream of her father coming back and her mother getting better again, of the family that she never had. When she thought of it now, she recalled how Zeus had come back and given them Jason, and her a reason to stay for. Her mother had gotten better, and for once, she glimpsed the woman her father had fallen for.

She now laughed at her naiveté, knowing that it was all just a dream, and that her father was never coming back. But despite everything she told herself, she did want his love. More than anything, she wanted to please him, to make him proud. Despite the countless times she and Luke had cursed their fathers, she knew that in his heart he still wanted his father's love as well. When he had come back, the year Jason was born, Thalia had desperately wanted to please him, doing everything he asked and more. And the result? He'd abandoned them a second time, and this time, if he ever came back, she would never again strive so hard to gain his approval. Never again would she have given everything for a kind word, to know that he did love her. He didn't love her at all.

It was starting to rain now, the beads of rain glittering like a million drops of diamonds as they fell, like her father felt her pain and was sharing it. She laughed inwardly at the thought. The bitter cold cut through her heart like an icicle. Where was her father now? Probably up on Mount Olympus enjoying a feast, not even noticing, let along caring, what was happening to his daughter. The rain was getting harder now, the beautiful, shimmering drops falling from the heavens and landing on the cold, hard pavement. Luke shivered beside her. It was getting colder and colder, but it was not the sharp cold that hurt her as much as the knowledge that her father was up there, laughing with the other gods, probably not knowing or caring that his daughter was huddled under a low balcony, freezing from the piercing drops of cold that showered from the heavens like a million falling stars.

**Author's Note:  
**

**I know this chapter was fairly uneventful, but I promise, the next one will be interesting. Quoting Leo 'peace out!"**


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